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Mr Nemir Kirdar

Mr Nemir Kirdar

Honorary Fellow

Nemir Kirdar is the Founder, Executive Chairman and CEO of the global investment group, Investcorp, which operates out of New York, London and Bahrain. Mr Kirdar began his banking career in New York in 1969. Following two years of credit training, he covered South East Asia and Japan for Allied Bank International. In 1974 he joined The Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, as Vice President. Between 1976 and 1981 he served in the Arabian Gulf, overseeing and directing Chase’s banking network in the region. He founded Investcorp in 1982.

Investcorp specializes in offering multi-product alternative investments on both sides of the Atlantic. These include direct investments in unquoted corporate entities, hedge funds, real estate, technology investments and Gulf growth capital. The firm’s mission is to act as a bridge between surplus funds in the Gulf and non-traditional investment opportunities in the USA and Western Europe. Its 400 staff are drawn from 38 nationalities.Mr Kirdar graduated in Economics from the University of the Pacific in California and holds an MBA from Fordham University in New York. He has also completed Harvard Business School’s Senior Management Program. Mr Kirdar has been awarded honorary Doctorates in Humane Letters from Georgetown University, Washington DC and Fordham University, New York; an honorary Doctorate in Law from the University of the Pacific, California; and an honorary Doctorate in Economics from Richmond, the American International University in London.

With his interests in business and geopolitics, Mr Kirdar has spoken at various international forums. He is also the author of numerous articles and three published books – “Saving Iraq” (2009) which reviews Iraq’s history and maps a course for its restoration; ”In Pursuit of Fulfilment” (2012) which records his life journey; and “Need Respect Trust” (2013) which tells the story of Investcorp.

CURRENT AFFILIATIONS

Honorary Fellow, St Antony’s College, Oxford University, UKMember of the Board of Trustees, Brookings Institution, Washington DCMember of the Board of Trustees, Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship, Philadelphia, PAMember of the United Nations Investments Committee, United Nations Pension Fund, New York, NYMember of the Advisory Board, School of International & Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York, NYFounding member of the International Business Council, World Economic Forum, Geneva, SwitzerlandMember of the Chatham House Panel of Senior Advisers, London, UKMember of the International Council of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MAMember of the Council for Arab & International Relations, Kuwait